A 71-year-old fisherman was killed by a nearly 12-foot alligator while fishing on the shore of Lake Apopka in Florida on Friday afternoon, in the second fatal alligator attack in the state this year, the Associated Press reported. Steven Hamilton, of Winter Garden, was attacked around 5 p.m. at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park, about 15 miles northwest of Orlando.
Hamilton was posing for a photo holding up a fish he had just caught when the alligator grabbed him, the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office announced Monday. Witnesses said the gator dragged him into the water, brought him back up, but did not release him. The medical examiner confirmed Hamilton died from blunt force injuries to his left leg and drowning, and ruled the death accidental, CBS News reported.
Other alligators active in the water hampered rescue efforts, and Hamilton's body was recovered about two hours later, officials said. Officers and trappers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission later captured the animal responsible and put it down. Police said they had received no prior warnings about an alligator near the shore before the attack.
It was the second deadly encounter of 2026. In June, Brittany Clark, 31, of Oviedo was killed by a 13-foot alligator while swimming in the Econlockhatchee River. State data puts the total number of fatal alligator attacks in Florida at 34 since 1948, a figure wildlife experts describe as low relative to the estimated 1.3 million alligators living in the state, even as officials say encounters are becoming more frequent as development pushes further into wetland habitats.
"Lake Apopka has tons of alligators in it," Winter Garden Police Capt. Michael Mason told reporters Friday night, adding a blunt public warning: "Always be aware of your surroundings. Always be safe. Wildlife: respect it. Keep your distance." The AP reported that police had received no advance warning of an alligator near the shoreline before the attack, which may be because the lake holds such a large alligator population.
Florida's nuisance-alligator protocol calls for the animal to be removed rather than relocated whenever one is implicated in a serious human injury, because large alligators are highly territorial and public safety takes precedence. The FWC has tracked unprovoked alligator bites since 1948 and counts about 500 incidents over that span, a figure dwarfed by the millions of recreational hours Floridians spend near freshwater each year, though officials say encounters are becoming more frequent as development pushes into wetland habitats.